


Fantasy Clash Live: The Video Game

by Spongeekat



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, America/England Fluff (Hetalia), Eventual Smut, F/M, Fantasy, M/M, MMORPGs, Multi, Video & Computer Games, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-08 18:08:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4315152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spongeekat/pseuds/Spongeekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred was nothing more than a nerdy college student, but after 2 years of being trapped in the virtual reality game Fantasy Clash Live by the creator, forced to find a way to beat the game to escape, he's become a level 124 Swordsman with the dream of helping the other players leave. His prayers are answered when he comes across Arthur, a lone Mage, who agrees- with some dissent- to accompany him on his quest to unlock the secrets in the unexplored part of the world, the Dark Map. Together, the pair builds up a party of players strong enough to face the secrets of the game and win. </p><p>America/England (USUK) is the main couple, but the side couples are Spamano, Sufin, and AushunPru (Very little of the triangle)</p><p>BASED VERY LOOSELY ON SAO<br/>Does not actually follow the Sword Art Online plot!<br/>Does contain romance!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Learning the Ropes

**Author's Note:**

> A picture of a map of the world: http://i.imgur.com/ZrW94iq.jpg
> 
> **AGGRO = AGGRESIVE MONSTERS that fight you if you come near**  
> MERC = Mercenary, or swords fighters that usually fight for money  
> MAGE= Magician, or those that are typically healers, though some do become weak fighters 
> 
> Town stats:  
> Audrathia- *Strongest of the alliance  
> *Major city is Locust  
> *Ruler is President Elizaveta  
> *Meant for those seeking shelter and home  
> *PvP is allowed but rarely happens
> 
> Trudus-  
> *Meant for those seeking battle  
> *Leveling world  
> *Wizarding towers  
> *Ruler is King Sadiq  
> *Loot and gold  
> *Major city is Yedap  
> *PvP is common
> 
> Crewan-  
> *Primarily port city  
> *Great for raising pets and remaining peaceful  
> *PvP is banned  
> *Ruler is King Heracles  
> *Major city is Portland
> 
> Hoidan-  
> *Flying monsters ranging from level 44-70 
> 
> Doarien-  
> *High level monsters ranging from 156-250
> 
> Eralieth-  
> *High level monsters ranging from 132-148
> 
> Theelan-  
> Mediumly hard monsters ranging from 80-120
> 
> Kilili-  
> Low level monsters ranging from 24-80
> 
> Viahar-  
> Dark and robotic monsters ranging from 14-140
> 
> Pulith-  
> Bug and sea monsters ranging from 60-100
> 
> Cianad-  
> *Town meant for those who wish to be alone  
> *Land of the trade  
> *No government  
> *Land for those to learn skills  
> *Land of blacksmiths and sales keeps  
> *Theifs and guilds fight here  
> *Place to hide 
> 
> Dark Map-  
> Dark and full of snow. Highest level monsters and extremely difficult. No one has come back alive. 
> 
>  
> 
> I'm super excited to write this, honestly! I've been planning this fanfiction for over a year (the first chapter was actually finished 311 days ago) and I'm finally back in the Hetalia scene.  
> You may have known me as Mars and Kitkat on Fanficiton.net (I wrote the Brit Next Door, The Corpse Groom, among others) so I hope that I get as great feedback on this as I did on there.

Swinging, jumping, beating, the cutting sound of a sword through air, the clinking of metal against claw, the breathing of the air on your skin, the rushing of the blood to your ears...Alfred loved it all. The feeling of accomplishment that radiated in your chest. The welling of power you had over the floating creatures aiming to kill. The pressure building in your stomach as you were struck, as the thought of death threatened you and you pushed further, unwilling to relinquish your confidence. Living. Fighting. Killing. Leveling. This was probably why Alfred continued to participate in this godforsaken world. The reason he hadn't given up long ago to live a quaint life of farming and submissiveness while leaving the real work to the big guys. No, Alfred was dead determined to bite this world before it swallowed him. He was going to beat it no matter what. 

His feet slid across the rocky ground as his body was thrown back, but he only lost a few feet. It was easily reclaimed, as he projected himself forward. The strength in his legs- which made him feel like he was walking on wind -threw his entire body forward in a flash. He tightened all the muscles in his forearm, his sword twisting around his body to strike at the engorged monster in front of him. He fell back again, rearming his attack as the large body lost its health points right before his eyes. The dark orbs of the enemy flashed terror, a common sight as these monsters went down, despite the fact they'd regenerate within hours, before it exploded into thin air like it hadn't even existed. Ash. Ash was your signal of victory. When its roundish body combusted, its wings disintegrated, and its talons shrunk, leaving nothing there but a pile of dust, it was then you could celebrate your own victory, and that's just what Alfred Jones, Level 124, Game Rank 8,254, did. He wiped his blade free of the virtual blood of the NPC, a grin producing itself proudly on his lips. Aggro Willowbacks were tough to fight. They were avoided in Audrathia, and lived primarily in the Southwest zone of the Audrathian Mountain range. They were 32 levels above Alfred, a fast way to gain experience points for combat and overall level, but absolute hell if you didn't level your strength up high enough. They were the ace of monsters, balanced well all around, primarily high in physical-combat stats. They didn't need other skills. It was clear, Alfred knew, as one of the beasts spawned directly to the side of him, its long talons extending from its body as it grew. The Willowback was clearly aggressive, as it advanced on Alfred in an instant. They were slow, but they were strong, and one unarmed attack could put Alfred down without a word. 

But Alfred F. Jones wasn't one to lose. 

It was clear to him, before he even entered combat, when he'd win a fight. He wasn't necessarily a low-class mercenary, he just worked too much on his strength and agility skills, which didn't contribute to his class as a fighter. Still, he wasn't a top-class fighter either. He'd spent most of his time since entering the game becoming a traveling merc, fighting for money and going on missions to assault while gaining levels, though it hadn't always worked out in his favor. Losing a fight had two outcomes; either you could be saved by another player and lose quite a bit of experience points and level down, or death. Dying in a game wouldn't have been too bad. You could, of course, easily die, respawn, and make your way back to that frustrating part of the RPG to redo your mission. However, it didn't work that way in Fantasy Clash Live. Was it even a game, or a controlled reality?

Alfred's sword clashed with the 3 foot long claws of the Willowback, letting his feet dance across the grass. He was taunting it. With the low class of the aggro and how often it attacked, it was obvious he would beat it. He just didn't want to do it yet. This feeling of power and ability didn't come often against higher levels. Fighting such an NPC always made him feel invincible, and it was such a wonderful emotion among a world of darkness and shadows plaguing your heart. 

A black figure among the grassy green pastures caught his eye. Alfred turned his head away from the monster, sword up defensively, risking a surprise attack as he did. What he saw gave him more chills than the threat of defeat. 

A black cloak billowed in the light breeze of the mountains, barely revealing any of the character underneath. It appeared to be someone on the smaller side- maybe a girl? -whose face was shrouded in a dark aura that seemed to follow them as they walked. They paid no attention to the monsters around them, instead seeming to be set on walking to a specific location. As Alfred's eyes analyzed the scene, he couldn't help but admire the poise and stance of the player. They seemed confident, but not overly cocky, with the posture of those Alfred looked up to. A hero, maybe. What if they had recognized Alfred's ability and decided to come recruit him for a guild? Maybe, once he finished off his monster, they could discuss, and Alfred could be invited to accompany other travelers in their fighting! 

However, one higher-class monster spawned just behind the black-cloaked player. Alfred turned his entire body, his eyes widening at the seeming ignorance of the mysterious player that didn't even turn to face it. Alfred's blood was rushing to his head in sudden panic. Getting attacked unprepared could only mean certain death. There was no way to save yourself from such an attack by the poisonous spikes. Alfred's voice rose to a loud shout, erupting from somewhere inside the nerves of his stomach, screaming at the player to turn around and deal with the monster. His voice must have startled them, as they turned, raising their arms up defensively as if it'd do something. Alfred's body lurched forward, the power in his legs making him sprint toward the source of his anxiety. He wouldn't watch someone else be killed without helping in some way! That was the way the world worked now, though Alfred wasn't willing to let that be the rules he followed. His knees bent, his entire body prepping for diving through the air. His knees braced and suddenly he had sprung toward the defenseless person, air shooting through his hair and whistling in his hears. But he'd barely made it a few feet before a sharp pain made his skin erupt in fire. He was batted painfully to the ground as he slid across the rocks, tearing at his skin and armor, blood pouring from several opened places in his body. Alfred lay on the ground, unable to move or get up, the poison from a Willowback claw making quick work of him. Four open slash marks dug into his body, practically tearing him apart. His eyes stared at the rocky dust rising from the ground, creating a storm cloud around him. Alfred watched as his health bar dropped rapidly, the numbers counting down toward his death as he could do nothing to stop it. Keeping his eyes open was a difficult task at this point, the heaviness of loss weighing down on his body. The mercenary's head eventually fell, as his health continued dropping, the poison doing a great deal on him. Alfred breathed in once, slowly, and by the time he breathed out he'd lost complete consciousness. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alfred wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep or where he saw when he awoke. His head was spinning off his shoulders, threatening to go flying off. His entire body ached, particularly his lower back, where he'd ultimately been struck down. The pain still shot through his body, and it was clear he'd not yet healed fully. Peering at his health bar, he noted he was at 50% health, but it was regaining quicker than Alfred could even imagine. But when his eyes slipped open for the first time, it was clear how. 

The figure's hood had fallen off, to reveal a dashing young man, who had to be a bit older than Alfred, with light blonde hair and sharp, green, gentle eyes. His eyebrows were off the charts, and a small part of Alfred was pressing him to reach a finger out to swipe across the soft looking hairs. But that'd be rude. Of course he wouldn't do such a thing when trying to make a good impression. The man's much smaller fingers were pressed lightly to his side, fingertips making an impression in his bare skin. Light danced out of his hands, flowing directly into Alfred's body. It tingled all around, as it flowed through his blood and bones and everywhere it could reach. The color gave away the spell, however. Green. Healing. 

The corner's of Alfred's lips were tugged up into a master grin. He did his best to appear as unruffled as he could, wanting to give just as much of a powerful atmosphere around him as possible. Despite the fact he was laying in a stranger's tent, injured and having been on the brink of death, he didn't feel as if he'd failed or appeared weak. Call it ego, pride, or denial, but Alfred was never one to feel as if he'd completely failed. Rather, it was just a small setback on his way to becoming the best that anyone's ever seen in FCL. Another obstacle to jump over to make him stronger. 

Within moments, the cloaked-player had taken notice of Alfred's consciousness. Alfred watched as the player's eyes wandered across his body, taking in every detail, crevice, and sculpt, finally happening to make contact with the teen's wide-spread grin. He seemed to jump, his hands disconnecting from Alfred's body as he approached 98% health, his body twisting in shock. A light dust of red of humiliation overtook his face, as he looked away from him, sputtering as if he'd been caught going through his parent's things. Alfred couldn't help a laugh escaping his throat, which he didn't regret once it came out. The man looked back at him with an offended expression. 

"What's so funny?" The player demanded, large eyebrows furrowing together as he stared down at Alfred demandingly, expression unwavering. 

Alfred simply smiled genuinely, shaking his head, attempting to dispel his worry that he'd done something worth mocking. "Nothing, nothing." He touched his back, the skin having knit together, leaving no evidence of a wound existing. Taking that as a good sign, he rolled onto his back with little effort, saving his strength for pushing himself up into a sitting position so that he was on the same level as his healer. His eyes automatically began to trace the room, investigating. It was a simple one-bedroom village house. The mage must have lived in one of the poorer villages outside Audrathia. The style of house was familiar to him. A bed was set into the corner of the room, a stove and table in the opposite. There were shelves scattered with various objects adorning them, with random boxes and crates filled with combat and food items alike. Potions laid here and there, some bottles empty or others completely full, with the familiar shine to them of magic. Alfred's eyes continued studying until they met those of the player's, that stared back, calculating his behaviors with a heavy look. Finally, Alfred decided to break the silence. "So, who are you?" 

That seemed to be the cue for the man to leave, as he pressed his hands into the floor, lifting himself up off the dusty ground. His cloak fell in bunches at his side, smoothing itself out. "You should have your stats completely healed within a day," was his only answer, clearly avoiding the question. "I can give you food and a few potions, if you'd like." He pulled a sack down from one of the many shelves, blowing off any dust that covered it. With a swift hand, he began packing higher-level healing food items. "Really, it was terribly silly of you to be fighting those monsters. They're warned against for a reason. They could kill you in an instant, especially at your level." 

Alfred felt his smile drop within a few words. He scoffed at the clear underestimation of his skill, pushing himself to standing. He was taller than the mage in an instant, looking down at the obviously smaller male. "How would you know anything about that?" His arms stretched out about his head, his back cracking in a delightful manner. "Jeez, dude, you don't know my level. Obviously, you haven't heard of me! I'm Alfred, the mercenary hero, level 124 overall, but 170 in strength!" He stood proudly, expecting a groveling response, begging for forgiveness for not having recognized how illustrious the person he'd saved really was. However, he didn't even get looked at twice. 

"Yes, yes." Was the only acknowledgment he received, effectively putting Alfred down, shoulders sagging. "That's all good. Here, keep this somewhere you'll remember it." He turned to hand it to Alfred, who refused to take it. Alfred's hands folded across his chest like a young child, doggedly staring at the Mage. 

"What's your name?" Alfred pressed. The indifference being shown to Alfred had proved to be more of a challenge than anything. He just felt the confidence spiking through him to at least figure out who this man was. Typically, the American teenager had yet to take an insult particularly well, but there was something about the way this other man said it that provoked his curiosity, if anything. 

The man in the cloak looked back at Alfred with an expression that was hard to read. It almost seemed like surprise? As if he didn't expect the hero to really care much. However, he still fed the hungry hero with a simple, "It's not important." 

Alfred felt like he was poking a dead fire with a stick. Even if it wouldn't get him anywhere, he decided to ask repeatedly until he was told. "C'mon, I told you mine!" He whined. "It's not like I'm trying to use it against you, or asking you anything personal. I just wanna know how to thank you." 

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice--"

"Jeez, dude, can't you just tell me?" Alfred practically begged, ebbing the distance between them as discreetly as he could. The tone of his voice caused the mage to turn around, quite slowly, to look at the beaming merc. "Just the first name, at least?" 

Alfred's ears perked at the sighing in defeat that he heard oh-so-sweetly. It gave him hope. He knew he'd broken him the second he saw his head drop and a flush cross his cheeks. "Arthur." Arthur mumbled in reply. "It's Arthur Kirkland. Is that enough to satisfy you and get you to bugger off?"

Alfred's clear satisfaction spread throughout every part of his face, causing Arthur to take on a flustered expression and turn away as quickly as he'd been looking at the teen. Alfred decided it was high-time to stop picking on the British player, and to preoccupy himself, he pressed himself into jogging on two shaky legs.

Arthur had seemed to be watching him, and just as quickly as Alfred was moving, he was nagging him. "Don't wreck yourself before your stats have gotten back up," A cross, motherly tone overtook his voice as he looked over the shirtless Alfred, checking that his physical injuries were healing just as fast. "This may be a game, but it doesn't mean you're immortal, and dizziness or fatigue still affect--" 

"Yeah, yeah." Alfred had gotten bored of listening to the lecture as soon as it started. "I got it, man. I've been playing since day 1." 

It was pretty odd for Alfred to hear FCL referred to as just a game. After all, for most that had been here for the horrid 2 years the game had been online and operating, it had become reality. The fighting, the stats, the maps, the quests... it all felt as if they'd been doing it forever. It was hard to adjust at first. People were missing families, little kids roamed the streets trying to find a way to their parents, and crime wreaked havoc across the maps as no government was in order. People were killed and raided and wiped out, all without punishment. They would devise plans to sneak into parties, gain their trust, then ambush the unsuspecting newbies and murder them all, all for a few resources and gold. It was disgusting. 

Out of the dust, however, three countries arose due to three figures taking over for government. Based on the three different climates and monsters, the light part of the map was divided into different lands; Audrathia, Trudus, and Crewan. The places were completely individual, and the leaders were heard to have been fighting and arguing constantly, avoiding a war that was sure to come. Audrathia was the place Alfred had settled, in the main city that was first constructed by their President, Elizaveta Héderváry, and was the most democratic of the three lands. The people living within tended to be more good-hearted, looking to fight the monsters rather than fighting each other. There weren't many internal disputes, as the guards put it to rest as soon as it started. The general rules of the area pre-determined by the game allowed PvP, though it was avoided due to the nature of the area itself. The major city was Locust, a city based on trading and skills, full of markets and those offering their services. It was also home to a group of Mage's at the center, a guild being offered for them. 

The country on the opposite side of the light map was Crewan, run by King Heracles. He had been forced into the job when the original leader died, whom no one properly knew the name of, but while he was a lazy leader, he was good at what he did. Crewan was primarily a port city, home to trading and fishing between the lands, and many of those living in Crewan made quite a bit of money and were richer than those in Audrathia. PvP was banned due to the nature of the game, and the entire country was settled and constructed upon, leaving only room for raising animals/familiars and crops. The major city was Portland, located directly on the water, where 5 of the major docks were located. It was also the place those deciding to venture into the unexplored, unsettled, high-level part of the world, nicknamed the Dark Map, would depart. 

Then, in between the borders of Crewan and Audrathia, was the largest of the three countries. Trudus. It's tyrant was Sadiq Adnan, a ruler that hardly showed his face. He was said to be just as vicious as the people within Trudus. Those who lived there aimed at PvP and leveling for personal reasons, mostly to conquer the Dark Map and become rich off of their fighting. It was known for thieves, ambushes, murder, and guild hideouts, one famous assassins guild, The Carnage Cloaks, known to be located there. It was avoided, though for those who didn't have boats or other means of transportation, you had to pass through to reach Crewan. Wizarding and combat towers littered the land, full of experienced fighters that were high level. It was hard to get into them, but once you could to train, it was said to be the fastest way to leveling. The major city was Yedap, one full of illegal trading and black markets, mostly selling those the pirates captured off as slaves. 

Not much was known about the Dark Map. It was divided into 8 sections, all full of monsters and dangerous lands. PvP was allowed and encouraged within, which brought a lot of determined guilds from Trudus to try to beat the land, though they hardly ever came back. The 8 lands were Hoidan; a land of flying monsters ranging from levels 44-70, Doarien; the highest levels of the game from 156-250 (the maximum level in the game), Eralieth; various high levels from 132-148, Theelan; various medium levels from 132-148, Kilili; various low levels from 24-80, Viahar, dark and robotic monsters from 14-140, Pulith; bug and sea monsters from 60-100, and Cianad; a dark part of the map that was small and hardly settled, containing no monsters, but designed for thieves and murderers to hide, or for guilds to set up a base before heading to the other lands. 

Still, the countries had been governed and operated quite the same as they had back in reality. So far, it felt like they'd honestly just moved locations. 

"Alfred?" Alfred had completely been completely zoned out, which he'd just realized as he'd returned back to his head. The memories always distracted him, because it all seemed like some bad dream he'd conjured up in his head. At some point, he'd taken to leaning against the door of the hut, staring outside at the little kids who ran free, and those tending to their crops and families (real or not) within the small village Arthur lived in. 

Alfred heard the shuffling of feet behind him, scuttling toward him, and within moments, Arthur came into view outside of the walls. He looked at Alfred with an unsure eye, his voice hesitant. "Is something wrong?" 

"Very wrong." Alfred's voice assured Arthur, who looked at him with worry flickering in his eyes. "I'm starving my ass off. Do you have anything?" 

Alfred's pleas didn't go unanswered. Within a short amount of time, and a large amount of Arthur complaining he had to feed the git he'd barely even met, they'd been settled into Lilli's Tavern, a food joint run by the skilled cook herself, Lilli, and her brother Vash. The sweet girl delivered their plates of Mewlip soup (consisting of the food drops of the cat-like monster, the Mewlip), and pitchers of beer, and Alfred barely had time to breathe as he dug in. Being a traveler, you never really got to save or make much money, always having to pay for places to sleep or expensive food on your way, so what he could afford was often cooked by unskilled chefs. That was one of the worst parts of the world. The lower your cooking skill, the worse the food came out. It would often be bland, burnt, and almost inedible, no matter how much time and effort you put into the dish. The only solution was to level, and once you were above a level 50 in cooking, the food began to actually have flavor. 

So to Alfred, this meal, cooked by a level 100 chef, was pure heaven. 

It wasn't until he was halfway through shoveling his face full of food that he realized Arthur was staring at him like he was a dog that had jumped onto the dinner table. He sat back up, wiped his face on his armor he'd adorned back on a while ago, and grabbed a napkin, spreading it out on his lap. He did his best to keep his posture and keep clean as he watched Arthur hesitantly begin eating his own servings, trying not to offend his host with his behaviors he'd picked up. 

They ate in silence, which was so agonizing, Alfred felt like his head was going to start rolling. The pain of the awkwardness the American created for himself made him burst. "So, you know my level," Arthur jumped with a start when he suddenly heard the voice loud in his ear. Alfred dropped his spoon into his bowl, swiveling on the bar stool to face Arthur. He placed his hands in his lap, a tilt in his head displaying his curiosity. "What's yours?" 

It took Arthur a moment of staring disapprovingly at Alfred's rude manners before he registered what Alfred said. He never turned his body from his spot, simply throwing his head over his shoulder defensively, while his eyes trained on Alfred's. "50." Arthur answered back, adding no emphasis or pride or even shame. It was simply a fact he recognized of himself. 

Alfred figured he'd better comfort the Brit the second he'd heard his level. Even if Arthur wasn't ashamed, it wasn't an uncommon thing to be a low-level mage. "Hey, dude, no sweat." Alfred said reassuringly, adding in a dazzling smile to show his true honesty in his words. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." 

Arthur's eyebrow twitched, clear annoyance crossing over his face. "I'm not ash--" 

"There's plenty of mages that are still babies like yourself!" Alfred reprised his words, continuing on in the middle of Arthur's sentence. His eyes took a familiar look of nostalgia, as if, he too, were once a low-level mage alongside the Englishman. "It's much too hard to level in this world." He paused, nodding in confirmation at his own words and theories. "Magic had to be discovered by the hands of the mages, after all! It wasn't a skill that was taught by the game, so many mages have suffered low levels while magic is still being learned." 

"Alfred, really, I know all of th--" 

"I believe in you, Artie." Alfred finally turned his attention back to his flustered companion, giving him a thumbs up. "I know you're gonna turn out to be a great mage, instead of some newbie." Arthur scoffed in offense, prompting Alfred to save himself from his own words. "Which is why I want to ask you to join me in my party, and go on my travels with me to save the world!" 

A stunned silence leaked over the duo, bathing them in the awkwardness of each other's emotions. Alfred, on one hand, spent the first few moments running over the cleverness of his words in his head. A big, proud, ray of sunshine strewn across his face as it was lit up in the courageousness of his thoughts. However, the longer Arthur remained quiet, the more Alfred's smile fell, and his hands plummeted from an outstretched thumbs-up into his lap. He closed up on himself, ashamed for even asking, assuming he'd scared off Arthur in some shape or form. However, when he opened his lips to apologize, he was cut off by a sound he definitely hadn't expected. 

Alfred's eyes jumped up to Arthur's face in shock, the dumbfounded expression turning to one of amusement, the faintest of laughs escaping Arthur's throat. In between his teasing snorts, he managed to speak. "You're a cheesy nutcase, did you know?" Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose, his head shaking back and forth in a disapproving manner, though the grin never left his lips, and it was warmly-welcomed by Alfred. "So far, since we've met, all you've managed to do was get brutally injured to the point I had to save you, dress your wounds, make me buy you food, and now you're telling me you're going to save us all?" 

Alfred gave a half-hearted nod, feeling his plans and any luck with Arthur joining him come crashing in like walls around him. 

"I'll think about it." 

And with that, Alfred perked right up. Starting a party was first up on the agenda to becoming a hero. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alfred's feet danced across the grass just as delicately as they always had. His high agility level let him hop and jump around while he was fighting, avoiding any hazards that could possibly be in the way during combat. And that's just what was required when fighting Meeks. While they were low level grass monsters that definitely weren't capable of killing you, they spit poison, which, caught without an anti-poison, could kill you within hours. Though the self-declared "high-level destroyer" Alfred had gotten plenty of practice in killing the bugs throughout the years, so it wasn't much of a difficulty to predict and dodge. 

Nearby, Arthur sat in the grass, outstretched over his cloack and watching Alfred's sword glinting in the light that overtook the day and wrapped it in a warm climate, before it would slash through the NPC and turn it into nothing but a pile of dust, as was the death sentence of Non-player characters in FCL. Players turned to pieces of shining glass when killed, and NPCs simply disintegrated where they stood. It was common to find piles of dust with items buried inside along fields, though, somehow, the dust disappeared within an hour of death, along with the drops inside of it. 

Alfred was having the time of his life, personally. Killing monsters of low levels gave him a sense of immortality and pride, and even better, was having his new friend watching him as he gained his strength stats and perks back in a matter of hours. Alfred knew that if he managed to impress Arthur as much as he planned to, he would eventually get Arthur to agree to his proposal. 

After their conversation in the tavern the day before, Alfred had been pressing for Arthur to agree constantly. All of his answers were always the same; "I need a good reason to go," or "Give me time to sort out my dues." And while it was obnoxious to not get a straight-out answer, it gave Alfred incentive, which could be just as fun as a yes. 

They'd talked a while before leaving, mostly discussing plans for the future or why they both ended up in the calm country of Audrathia. Alfred hadn't been brave enough to leave on his own. It wasn't easy to survive alone in Trudus, and it was lone Mercs that tended to get caught up as a victim to raiders and thieves and murders. He couldn't die before he'd even left the country, that was for sure. Arthur, on the other hand, told Alfred he had been a traveler before he'd settled down in Audrathia. He was told of an issue involving players mysteriously losing all their HP as they slept, presumably attacked by bed bugs within the game. However, the weirdest part of the story was the locations. The attacks always happened within cities of Audrathia, which was where NPC attacks were pretty much a negative besides a few incidents. So Arthur had been sent to investigate and find a spell to protect the people from deadly attacks, which is why Alfred had found him in such a poor household. There were stories that connected it to the rumored powerful player killer that resided in the dark map, though the Brit hadn't found such relations. 

Alfred cut down another creature, watching it's body fall to the ground limb-by-limb. He was panting lightly from the effort of swinging such heavy equipment constantly for hours, though drinking from his water supply calmed down his racing heart rather fast. His arm rubbed sweat from his drenched face, and his head swiveled to face Arthur, flashing him his teeth to earn approval from the man. "So, Artie," Alfred prompted with a mischievous tone to his voice. "You wanna go with me on my quest yet? After seeing how awesome I am at this?" 

Arthur heaved a surface sigh. "I told you, Alfred, I--" A strange expression passed the mage's face as he pushed himself to sitting up straight, looking at the spot over Alfred's shoulders right behind him. Alfred's head immediately shot in the same direction, a pang of panic suddenly washing over him. 

From the grounds, it was obvious an NPC was forming, the ash scattered along the ground racing around itself in a tornado-like movement. However, within only a few seconds, it was already surpassing the size of the other Meeks cowering around it. The body finished forming, and a title and healthbar popped up over its head. 

"King Meek, dangerous aggro, 1,890/1,890 HP" 

And in that moment, Alfred knew he was screwed. 

The preying monster barreled toward his target, hands and feet propelling it toward a stunned hero that could only manage to blink under the threat of the creature. Alfred fumbled toward his sword as it got closer by the seconds, raising it just as he could feel the Meek's hot, acidic breath burning against his face, barely able to swing it up enough to knick it and make it fall back just a few steps. Again the Meek pursued, swiping away Alfred's sword and knocking him to the ground. His armor clattered in a terrible, metallic sound, pieces clashing against one another as he fell. The wind left his body. His eyes struggled to make out the grassy opponent ready to rip out his throat and end his short, teenage life, as Alfred was unable to fight back. 

The beast's venom stopped on its lips, and its entire body went rigid above the terrified American. He watched as it completely froze,eyes shooting up to the apparent hunter. Alfred's gaze followed, spotting Arthur now standing in his spot, determined expression plastered on his face. His hands were emitting a dark green glow that extended to the beast, keeping it tethered to its spot by a spell Alfred had yet to see. Arthur flicked his wrists as another spell emerged, changing the colors to a dark blue that crackled and lit up like lightning. It shot into the beast, making it squeal out in pain and shock. The entire body of the meek glowed with a silver flame. Heat spread out around it and down to Alfred, as he covered his own face with his arms. He watched through the filtered hole at the beast as it supercharged and exploded. 

Ash spit out in every direction around the spot the NPC once stood. It floated down like snow, all around them, being the only movement now nearby the duo. Alfred was stunned himself, not expecting anything of the like to come from the low-level he'd been with for the past two days. He sat up, head spinning from the fear that had once come over him. "A-Arthur..." His voice was a croaky gasp, almost giving him a horrified quality to his voice. 

Alfred noticed Arthur visibly wincing away, avoiding his look. Wanting set the Brit's fears to rest, Alfred allowed his face to light up like a flashlight, his teeth flashing. "That was... awesome!" he gushed, taking seconds to bounce to his feet and bound to the Mage standing feet away. An apprehensive, bemused look from Arthur was all Alfred needed as motivation to keep cheering in amazement. "Dude, I didn't know you had powers like that. You said you were a level 50!" 

"I am," Arthur sniffed. He was relaxing to Alfred's starstruck tone, letting his words warm him and assure his racing heart that he hadn't disappointed or scared him away. His emerald eyes met blue, an embarrassed blush crossing his cheeks from the doting he was receiving. "I simply took courses back in Trudus on spells. From a book I found dropped by a raidvan." 

Arthur felt Alfred's hands squeeze his, though he let them go easily. He knew it was a slightly awkward action to take toward someone you'd just met, no matter how excited you were to see them blossom. "You never told me that, man." They were bathed in momentary silence. Alfred had a million things racing through his mind, a trillion things he wanted to say. There were so many options, and so many disappointing outcomes to it. Though he eventually realized there wasn't much to say. 

Alfred retreated a step from his friend and drew up the player menu. Arthur saw the reflection of it jading his face, Alfred clearly reading and pressing on the different options. He peered into the light, trying to figure out what he was actually trying to do. "Alfred, I--" 

A beeping cut Arthur off. Arthur glanced up to his notifications bar and selected, as a menu expanded in his line of sight. At the top of them was a single message, one that made Arthur's heart stop in his chest.

"I know you haven't made up your mind," Alfred's voice was sweet like honey and honest as any child, floating through Arthur's ears like hope. "But I have. I really, really want to partner up with you, Arthur. I wanna be friends with you, and I wanna fight with you! I want to defeat this world and the only way we can do it is together." 

Arthur's fingers twitched on the end of his hand. They lingered over the transparent words of the request, two options spread out before him. The options that would decide his course from here on out. 

"So, please, Arthur," Alfred's eyes watched him with testing intensity. A hope was radiating in both of their chests. They both knew what they wanted, and they each had goals to complete in this world that could only happen with each other. 

[Alfred Jones has requested you to join his party. Do you accept?]  
(Yes) (No) 

Arthur's fingers spread out and inched forward, selecting the one option he knew that was right. 

[Arthur Kirkland has joined Alfred Jones's party.]

[Your party has reached Party Level 1.]

[Good luck on your adventure in Fantasy Clash Live]


	2. Hanging by Thread

"Alfred, you blasted fool! Keep your eyes open!--... your left, Alfred, your LEFT!" Arthur voice carried like a wispy feather over the distance of the pasture between them, hardly creating even a ripple in Alfred's concentration. The task of sorting through the drops of the Eyevee’s he had killed while evading future attacks had proved to be just as difficult as he’d imagined. They were on a hunt, and he wasn't about to let himself get distracted from finding upgraded items they would need for their journey. Unfortunately this time, he really should have let the Brit pull him from his determined prowell. 

Alfred's eyes slowly trailed up to a large Eyevee barrelling over the hills toward him, only feet away, fangs outstretched in desperation of his blood. He shot his gaze to his sword which lay further back, quick calculations being done in his head. He truly didn't have the time to attempt to retrieve it, which would mean he'd have to rely on pure brawns. He blocked the attack with an armored forearm as it shot straight up before him, feeling sharp teeth of the monster clacking against metal, piercing the areas where it didn't quite cover his joints. He knocked it back with a fist to its bloodshot eye, stumbling back himself from the force of them withdrawing opposite directions. This was enough, as his body stooped to finally pick up the cold abandoned sword that lay on the ground, watching their previous drops that hadn’t been retrieved puff away into the memory of the ash pile as the hour time limit was up. 

Alfred twisted his hilt in his hand, readjusting himself to the weight of it. The familiar pounding of his heart picked up, and though he was bleeding, losing health, and the monster was coming back at him, he couldn't help but let out a wide, toothy grin. This was what Alfred lived for. The thrill of the fight. The feeling of progress after each victory. The security in Arthur standing by to watch over his stats, always ready to heal him.

Speak of the devil. 

"Christ." There it was, Arthur's snarky irritation each time Alfred got hurt. He always played annoyed when he had to heal the careless fighter, though, truthfully, Alfred saw the excitement hidden deep in his bright green eyes. He saw the sparkle of happiness in the feeling of being needed. They'd been together for less than a month, yet he was the one the young adult had gotten to know the most in the world. He could identify his emotions rather well, even through his bitter tones he defaulted to. "What did I say?" 

A green healing spell sparked the air around the American. Accompanying it was the feeling of energy flooding through his muscles, as if all lethargy had been cleared. He was refreshed, and with his health rising and wounds healing, he was prepared to fight . Though, it was rather obvious by then they'd be forced to clear out soon, as the creatures they'd been murdering continuously began to spawn in ubiquitous amounts. The blade he held punctured through the Eyevee still pursuing moments later, as it exploded to ashes around him. Though, there was no time to pause and revel at his quick win. 

"Alfred, grab the drops! There's more coming toward you!" The crash of magic warding off the flying creatures sounded behind the American, panic overriding his senses. Without much actual thought to his actions he fell to his knees, hands fumbling to attempt to take whichever items he could manage to carry on his own. And then he was off, sprinting toward the retreating mage that threw occasional spells at Eyevee's hissing from inches behind Alfred’s head as they gave chase. Even with his body weighted down with armor and loot, he quickly caught up with Arthur, and soon both were panting in synchronization and sprinting to save their own asses from being overrun. Arthur was the first one to stumble down the hill, as he disappeared behind the tall grass, lost before Alfred's eyes. Alfred heaved himself down the other side as well as the screeches of Eyevees followed him, though he was stopped halfway down his descent by a hand grabbing him, ripping him into a dark area so quickly, he didn't even have time to scream. 

Alfred found himself pressed up against his captor - or as he was now discovering, his savior, Arthur - shoved tightly into a tiny hole dug into the side of the hill. Above them, monsters barrelled over the edge, running off into the distance without so much as an acknowledging glance of the two hiding. Their breaths were quick and scarce, both panting within the dark, confined space, hearts pounding in their chest, though, eventually that feeling began to ebb away. Alfred turned his eyes to face Arthur's which reflected back through the shadows, both showing a hint of relief. They stayed like that for seconds, staring back and forth with an odd intensity, before Alfred was the first to break. 

His laughter cut the silence, echoing out with its sweet warmness, and he noticed Arthur couldn't help but join along. And there the two dorky fighters lie, giggles filling the small space they had, both realizing how lame their worries seemed to feel when the danger had actually vacated. Alfred listened carefully to Arthur's sweet snickers, the sound of the genuine joy making his own chest swell, as he really loved to see the kind side of the Brit he preferred not to show. 

Alfred's hands managed to release the top of the backpack covered in the ash of its dead owner, looking through the contents. Potions, food... it was all there. But not what they were looking for. 

"No armor again?" Arthur groaned as the items were sorted out and laid out for demonstration. "That was our last fight of the day.”

"We're out of poison." Alfred noted, wiggling the empty jar he'd kept in his own inventory. The backpack absorbed into his player menu, as he started to pack up his weapons along with it. "It's okay, seriously, Arthur. I don't need a huge armor upgrade." 

"Like hell I'll let you be underprepared for Trudus." Arthur grimaced, crawling out of the small space. He stretched as he returned to the grassy area outside, Alfred watching the light it gleam off of his hair. "If we come across a raidvan, there's no guarantee I can heal you every five seconds when you get struck." 

"I'll be fine." Though the worrying was appreciated. Arthur had no obligations toward him, yet he treated him as kindly as he would a long time friend. He was cold, and tended to hide quite a bit of information about himself, even going so far as to not reveal his level on the party- likely out of embarrassment of how much lower he was than Alfred, as he often convinced himself - but there was a warmness to the way he treated Alfred that was quite welcome after his years of being alone. 

"No dumb mistakes, then." 

"I won't, Mom." 

"There's no need to act that way." 

They were an odd pair, Alfred noted, as they headed back toward town a few minutes later. Arthur was a short, stubborn jerk that acted ages older than the American, though he was barely 4 or 5 years his elder. Alfred was full of life, which greatly contradicted Arthur's closed off ways, yet somehow they'd found solace together. Alfred had even levelled up to 125 with Arthur's help, constantly buffering him during confrontations. As he pulled up the player menu to check his stats, Alfred confirmed to himself Arthur still hadn't levelled, which was quite peculiar. Arthur kept his levels and stats private, which prevented him from actually telling by viewing his profile, but he still would have seen a significant spike in party EXP if Arthur had levelled as well. But, again, it was just simple details. He didn't quite understand the mechanics of the way magic worked in the world, and Arthur always seemed to become too exasperated to fully explain it. 

They walked in a comfortable silence next to one another on their way toward the buildings a hundred yards away, occasionally broken by dumb comments or bouts of laughter. Really, it was uncanny how often they fought, yet it never turned into a dispute that could possibly splinter their friendship. Alfred always caught himself smiling to the thought of the Brit, though he excused it to himself as simply a side effect of being alone for so long. 

"Hey, Arthur, I know you say you're fine without them, but I really think we should invest in magic restoring elixirs." Alfred looked up at the Brit who met his eyes with his own hesitant expression, though Alfred didn't allow it to disturb him. "It's not like you really can go without them. I mean, magic draws off mage points, right?" 

"E-Erm, yes," Arthur cast an odd- almost guilty- variation of a grimace over Alfred as he continued walking, eventually turning his eyes down and away. "That's true." 

Arthur's lack of reaction or denial just spurred Alfred's motivation, as he pressed the issue further. "Exactly. I know you say it's not worth the money, but shouldn't we get them anyways? I'm worried about leaving you defenseless, you know, while I totally wreck all the bad guys." 

"Alfred, I don't exactly--" 

A shrill shriek cut off the pair, and two pairs of eyes immediately shot in unison toward the source of the sound, and they were both launching themselves forward seconds later. They ran side by side around the corner of the houses, stopping in their tracks the second they had found the shrieking girl. The image before them certainly made both thoroughly confused and fearful as soon as it came into view. 

It wasn't simply the young women strung by their necks along trees, dangling like rag dolls motionless in the square as a large crowd of bystanders stood at bay at the sides that caused this reaction. Even the young female player now in the process of being hung, the hands of her attackers preparing to pull the stool out from underneath her and cut her life short, wasn't the most shocking part. No, it was the smallest detail that could be passed over in a second. Truly the most frightening aspect was the fact that the men stringing the victims up was their golden eyes, indicating the fact they were NPC's attacking players in a town that was, by game rules, otherwise docile and had no such recorded events. Which completely broke all rules. 

Alfred was quick on the scene, seconds faster than Arthur to move. After all, the American was much more focused on saving the girl before she shared the same fate as the others, or at least stalling until they could get her down. His sword glinted in the hot sun as he came to a rigid stop before the NPC guards, glaring them down with a horrible look in his eye that represented the blood he was willing to draw to help. He held his sword threateningly, his voice barking out gruffly. "Cut the rope." He demanded in a voice much more commanding than his normal happy-go-lucky attitude. 

Alfred barely had an effect on them. Their pre-programmed nonchalant aura was upheld, even through their annoyance. "Step back." Came the command that all heard, which gave Alfred the indication he wasn't escaping a fight. 

Arthur was ready and on the scene as Alfred began the conflict. He was accustomed to Alfred's quick speeds, which helped him to evade the shock as Alfred darted toward the NPC's. As soon as Alfred's swipe of his sword was met with the cold metal of the guard's and sent him flying back, green lightning shot out of his hands and quickly healed the boy. He kept a close watch as the guard's holding the crowd back began to surround him, keeping himself out of the line of fire as they closed around Alfred who fought desperately. 

A sharp pain spread through the Brit's neck as he realized a blade was now pressed to his bare flesh, and a arm soon laced around his shoulders to keep him in place, his constant healing and buffering of Alfred being halted. 

"Step back." The guard threatened as Arthur was forced to stay in place, left unarmed without a way to struggle or move away. He could feel the blade break skin further the more he tried to fight out of his grip, as blood began to drip down his neck, and he could only watch helpless as Alfred plunged his sword into the stomachs of those attacking him, while also taking cuts on his shoulders and side. 

A whizz through the air sounded in Arthur's ears as an arrow suddenly plunged through the guard's forehead. Arthur stiffened as he felt the guard's body tense up, before it disappeared in a puff of ash. He shot his head around defensively to find the attacker, as five arrows shot by him just inches from his skin, all landing in the bodies of the guards before they too disintegrated, leaving both boys stunned. 

Horse hooves clattered against the ground, bringing around their savior into eyesight, and they weren't met with a lack of reaction. Voices and cries of happiness boomed around them from the crowd, screaming out the name of the rider from all directions, as she stepped off her horse without much acknowledgement or flattery at their happiness. She was first to assist the woman down, offering her a warm smile, as the girl returned with complete modesty and graciousness. Still, Arthur and Alfred didn't need the crowd to tell them who it was. They both just knew. 

"P-President Elizaveta," Alfred greeted, his eyes wide. Really, he couldn't quite take in the fact it was really her, the strong archer and fighter that had helped to establish the map of the game that had existed today. That shock quickly changed to a fascinated smile, as he took her outstretched hand generously. "Dude, thanks. That was so cool!" 

Elizaveta flashed him a perfect smile through her already gorgeous and graceful looks, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder as she peered past him. "No, thank you. It's... unfortunate what happened." She looked up at the hung women that weeping people had begun to take down, and finally settled her grave eyes back on Alfred. "But thank you for lending your strength to help her. I don't know what caused this, but you can bet your ass I'll find out. Who was it who helped you, by the way? I'd like to thank them as well." 

Arthur could feel dread in him as she went quiet, stiffening as feet scuffled toward him in a sprint. So, he'd been seen, even while attempting to cover himself with the cape that adorned him. The arms of Elizaveta slipped around his smaller frame, drawing him into her rather muscular body, and her fingers dropped the black hood off his face to reveal a flushed blonde look of irritation. She appeared rather taken aback by her revelation, but it took her moments to continue on with her cuddling, her voice ringing out in happiness as she voiced her find. 

"Arthur, look at you!" She gushed, which proved to also unsettle some of the citizens who hadn't seen this level of casualness before. "You've grown! I haven't seen you in two years!" 

The Brit managed to pull free for seconds, though he was wrenched right back into her hold. While he tended to pride himself as a tolerant gentleman that didn't show unfriendliness to any, he was really itching to not be forced into a space hardly big enough for him to fit in her hot body. "I would really appreciate my own blasted personal space." He sniffed without as much malice as to be expected. Eventually she complied, releasing him as she continued to fret over his hair length, his eyebrows -which earned her a very sour reaction - and all the other details she could find differences in from her memory. 

Alfred, meanwhile, stood idly to the side, kicking dirt up, trying to figure out how in the hell they had even known one another. 

"Alfred has been dragging me around," Hearing his name, he finally glanced up with a satisfied grin after having being brought into the conversation, though this hardly lasted as Arthur ducked around his back for obvious protection from her constant touching. "He's the only one you need to thank for today. After all, he was the one to fight. " 

Elizaveta's look of clear frustration accompanied a groan at her inability to continue looking over and chatting to the hiding Brit. She instead turned her attention to Alfred, offering him a proud grin and a handshake. "You certainly proved yourself today as a merc. But I want to thank you properly. Why don't both of you come back to the castle, and we can talk?" 

"No that's quite alr--" 

"We'd love to--" 

Blue met green as the two men peered at one another critically for their answer, though Arthur was much less displeased than the excited American. After all, how often did a noble offer you such a fun experience? "Artie, c'mon, let's go." 

"Arthur," He corrected stiffly, and shook his head with his unsurprising stubbornness. "We really have to get back to our preparations for Trudus." 

"Just an hour?" 

"No." 

"Thirty minutes?"

"Alfred, we're not going!" 

Less than 50 minutes later, Arthur found himself staring up at the gorgeous animated decorations that adorned the castle walls, unable to thoroughly process how he'd ever gotten harassed into agreeing. 

Alfred and Elizaveta had hit it off uncannily well, and had somehow been constantly discussing silly matters that Arthur couldn't bring himself to join in the conversation of. Hell, the only reason he had stayed was to prevent Alfred from blubbering if he did decide to reject him, and the tea that had to be masterfully prepared. His own cooking skill had yet to produce anything this edible or flavorful enough to consume. 

"Arthur really is something, let me tell you," Zoning in, he finally heard his own name mentioned by Elizaveta. Oh, yes, Alfred had been pressuring the woman into telling him how the two had even become acquainted."Audrathia wouldn't exist without him." 

Arthur avoided Alfred's stare at him in obvious shock and amazement, causing him to shift uncomfortably. Really, he felt no need to lie or exaggerate his accomplishments. "Bullocks. Elizaveta was the mastermind. I simply was there when she established the first village." 

"Being modest will get you nowhere." Elizaveta huffed, and ignored Arthur's attempts to stop her explaining. "It was within a month of the game starting, while player killing was still active around here and we were still trying to figure out the rules. There were too many children and parents that had come in to save their kids trying to hide and being unable to defend themselves. I had been protecting around 10 families by then, and we'd founded a group we called Locust, which is how the capital got its name. Arthur found us and introduced himself as a beta tester, and helped us to quick build houses through magic and taught us skills, then found others to join. Eventually, we'd created a village, and spread multiple out throughout the borders of Audrathia. Arthur disappeared soon after, but he was the reason we'd even managed to create a safe farming and living area. Of course, then Heracles and Sadiq followed suit and declared themselves kings. I was voted into leadership here." She beamed with an odd victory as Arthur felt himself flushing. He never prided himself as one of the founders, really. It wasn't a big deal for him. 

Yet, Alfred could hardly believe it. It wasn't like Arthur bragged, and he really kept his past a secret. He hadn't even known he'd been one of the first players in the game. It made sense how he'd learned all the magic he had despite being a mage. "W-wow." He could see the hesitance on Arthur's face, and he wasn't about to let him grow awkward. He punched his shoulder lightly, trying to keep his mood light. "Dude, coulda been the VP. Now you're stuck with me." 

“What exactly are you two doing together?” Elizaveta questioned. Alfred watched her as she stood, brushing off her hard leather pants, before beginning to clear away their dishes with her hair drooping behind her. “I mean, no offense, but I really can’t imagine Arthur just travelling for fun.” 

Alfred was already interjecting his answer he’d practically rehearsed before Arthur could even breathe. 

“We’re gonna save everyone!” His heroic sparkle returned to his eyes, his fist clenching and banging on the table with a fire that even caused the Brit next to him to jump. “We’re going to Yedap, then taking a ship to the Dark Map! And once we find out what’s causing all the NPC’s to freak out, we’re definitely gonna figure out how to escape and win the game!” 

Alfred’s declaration of success didn’t go unreturned. Elizaveta’s pause almost scared him as she didn’t respond for moments, but eventually she turned back with an excitement that very much matched the American’s. “Then that settles it! I’m coming with you!” 

Arthur almost spit out his tea at her decision, coughing on the liquid as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. Elizaveta?! Following them?! Hell, he could hardly tolerate her this long, and they’d hardly even been together! He looked up with a cross look adorning his lips, folding his arms in obvious annoyance. “That’s unnecessary. We can handle ourselves. Besides, you have a bloody country to run! You can’t just waltz off on adventures whenever you’d like.” 

Elizaveta’s sly look spelled nothing but the disastrous fact he couldn’t talk her out of it. “I’ll have my vice president Roderich make plans for my departure. I’ll need the week, however. You’re going to Yedap, yeah? I’ll meet you there on Sunday. That works, right? I just need an escort over to the Dark Map.” 

Arthur still wasn’t about to let up. “I won’t be responsible for Audrathia in ruins because you got yourself killed.” 

“Then I just won’t die. Still, Artie, I don’t need anyone to watch over me.” She grinned again, this time completely diminishing Arthur’s argument. “Alfred, what about you?” 

“Dude! I get to fight with you?” Alfred’s blue eyes shone with the innocent bubbliness of a young child, which tended to be commonplace for him, truly. Arthur knew he wasn’t going to actually have a say, as he sighed bitterly in the background. “Sign me up!”

Arthur let out a bitter groan, burying his face in his arms as the two started to talk excitedly about the journey ahead. He really had only braced himself for the one idiot to travel along with him. He wasn’t prepared for two. 

A horrible feeling had settled itself into Arthur’s stomach days ago, as if something terrible would befall them soon, and adding another player only increased the risk. Looking at their happy smiles and chattering lips, he could only pray he’d be able to protect them if it came down to it. 

[President Elizaveta has joined Alfred Jones’s party.]

[Your party has reached Party Level 4. ]


	3. Enemies and Allies

Alfred was quite surprised at how much pain riding horseback for ten hours could bring to your calves and legs. After the three long days of travelling the Trudus borders to avoid conflicts with the thugs, he could now say it was quite literally a pain up the ass. It beat the exhaustion of walking by himself, but, despite that, it felt like a hot bar was being twisted around his body with every bounce of the horse's back, and no level of healing potion was going to be able to dispel that pain. 

Still, it hadn’t been all that bad of a trip the past half week. The chatting both he and Arthur did between fights and settling down to camp was utilized simply to keep each other preoccupied, but Alfred valued it more than Arthur probably did. It was the first time Arthur had truly opened up, both telling hilarious stories about their time in the world, and Alfred getting to find out more about beta testing and Arthur’s history. He mentioned a boy named Peter every once in a while without likely realizing it, and the one time Alfred brought him up, Arthur took on a sour expression and refused to go in depth. So, Alfred had realized not to question him too horribly much. Even so his stories were interesting, and did keep Alfred’s mind off the conditions of their travelling. 

“So, what was your life like outside the game?” Alfred mused, adjusting his legs to keep from sticking to the leather of the saddle. 

“It’s rude to ask that to players, Alfred. It’s basic etiquette not to bring up reality.” 

Well, Arthur hadn’t exactly warmed up to Alfred quite the same amount as Alfred had to Arthur. 

Alfred met Arthur’s bitter expression, refusing to back down from his question. After all, he was genuinely curious on what his life was like outside, not trying to simply be invasive. He just wanted to get to know Arthur. “Yeah, but, when we get out of here, I wanna know how to find you, Arthur. We’re totally gonna be like, best friends, right?” He grinned with a truthful glee in his words. Staring at the cross blond, he could see his face flush as he shrunk away. Typical Arthur response. Which meant he was flattered. 

Even if he wasn’t going to answer Alfred’s questions, that wasn’t going to stop Alfred from talking about his own life. He sat back and relaxed on the saddle as much as possible, hooking his feet in the straps as he placed his hands on the rump of the horse. The sun sparkled overhead in the gorgeous sky- which was one plus of being in game- which bore practically no resemblance to the real world’s sky. It made it hard to remember what the real world was actually like. “I wasn’t anything special.” Alfred confessed. It wasn’t a lie, either. He hadn’t had a job. He was barely getting an education because he kept skipping out on school days. He and his family had a normal suburban dynamic with parents that both had 10 hour work days and often went on vacations alone. “I was a senior in highschool when I came in the game, and about to graduate. Well, maybe. I didn’t have the best grades. Straight D’s, you know? But it was passing enough. I was only going to college on a football scholarship, but I kinda started to hate that, too. The other kids were tools to everyone, and I didn’t wanna be part of that crowd. The girls were nice, but it’s not like I was interested. I just liked the game. I didn’t need the popularity.” He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look. “God, I know that sounds annoying! Complaining about friends and people liking me. But I seriously just wanted people to go to parties with, but also play Left for dead with on the weekends. I didn’t care about drama or anything.” He stopped to breathe, almost having forgotten to during his rant. “I lived with my mom, stepdad, and half-brother. They almost didn’t let me buy the game, can you believe that? If I hadn’t bought it and ended up here? But I promised I’d only play for an hour. I’m just relieved they didn’t try to get me out.” His nostalgic look eventually left his face, and he sat up, regrabbing the reigns. Arthur’s turn. “You can’t tell me anything?” 

“Nothing.” Arthur sniffed, though it was obvious he’d changed his attitude a bit after Alfred’s story. 

“Your job? What kind of house you were in? Who you lived with?” 

“I was an author,” Arthur confessed, keeping his eyes straight forward, as if he was embarrassed by his identity. “I wrote romance, mostly. I wasn’t actually into video games. My editor’s best friend was a beta tester, and she said they needed a larger demographic of testers other than white, nerdy straight males in college that had been the ones to sign up, so I accepted. I mean, the game was free after I had. And that’s how I ended up here. I lived alone. I didn’t have a close relationship with anyone else, really, besides my brother.” 

They rode in silence for a bit, though both knew they were simply processing each other’s stories. Alfred had an almost guilty expression on his face, as if Arthur was being forced to tell something painful, but it really wasn’t that way to the Brit. He sighed to catch Alfred’s attention, knowing they had quite a bit of trust between them, and he didn’t want to break that. After all, wouldn’t he find out eventually every secret Arthur had been keeping? They spent enough time together. This was a once-a-year chance for him to feel this spur of the moment confession coming on. “Alfred,” He said softly to catch his attention. He tried to summon the truth to his head, but it honestly felt rather impossible to word this in a correct way. “Listen, I haven’t been completely honest with you. And I feel as though I must.” He waited for Alfred to tell him it was alright, Arthur didn’t actually have to tell him his life story, but no such words came, which meant he was stuck. “Alright, I, erm..” He breathed softly to contain his nerves, though that was quite harder than expected. “I should tell you that I--...” 

A large explosion nearby practically sent Arthur and Alfred flying off their panicking horses. Alfred’s bucked, and the only thing that really saved him was the fact he had reinserted his feet into the straps. He clung on for dear life, gasping in pain at the soreness that spread through his body, until the horse managed to calm down enough to put all 4 feet on the ground. Arthur lay nearby, collapsed, trying to pick himself back up after being thrown off, as Alfred rode to his side, hopping off to pick the delicate mage up. The Brit coughed in pain as Alfred took his hands and lifted him, pulling him onto the back of his horse behind him. “Hold on,” He commanded and wrapped Arthur’s arms around his waist, before riding hard in the direction of the explosion. Really, it was smarter to go the other way and run, but fighting out here tended to only mean another player was in trouble. And Alfred was never one to let someone deal with problems alone. 

They powered through the hills, finding the booms rather soon, and they were both right about their premonition. Before them was a man wielding a katana, protecting a young girl behind his leg as she clung to him fearfully. A caravan for the raiders was parked nearby, and the actual group was closing in threateningly on the pair. They all held odd bombs, and, though they were small, it was clear of their power considering how far away they had heard the explosions. Both the man and young girl were covered in scratches and wounds, and it was obvious they were weakening by the minute. A bomb trajectory went flying through the air toward them, as the Asian man held his sword up, a forcefield shooting out from it and bouncing the bomb back at them. It had clearly been used for quite some time and he was losing his power, as it was spotty in the air. But they weren’t alone now, either. 

Alfred helped Arthur to jump down off the horse before he followed, both stumbling next to the man as the horse never stopped its movement and ran off in the other direction. Alfred immediately took his stance in front of the man to protect him with a fierce look. Arthur’s fingers barely touched his katana, but it lit up bright blue, the stats instantly jumping twice their normal capability as the man also healed and gained buffs. 

“I’m Alfred, this is Arthur!” Alfred greeted with a warm look, tilting his head back to face the two. He withdrew his sword, taking on a guarding stance, feeling his blood rush through his body. Bombs were new. He’d never had to fight explosives. It was just another adventure! 

“Kiku.” The man nodded, and put his hand softly on the young girl’s head. “Lin Yi.” 

“We’re here to help you, then, Kiku!” Alfred declared, but a clicking stole his attention back toward the enemies before them. He didn’t want to kill other players. That wasn’t his style. He just hoped to injure them enough, they would have to go to town to heal and stop fighting. The clicking proved to be another explosive, as the bomb was thrown directly at them. Kiku’s sword instinctively raised and sliced down, causing a horrible clinking sound as it cut it in half. 

Arthur could see the danger before it happened. He turned immediately, falling to Lin Yi’s side and pulling her into his cape, shielding her completely with his body. Heat rushed past them as the bomb exploded, sending pieces of dirt and shards of metal flying past them, scratching each of them. Arthur set to healing and building Lin Yi’s armor stats, withdrawing only enough to make sure the shrapnel hadn’t hit her. Her large brown eyes stared back at him, as he smiled softly to comfort her. “We’ll help you, alright?” He promised softly, petting her brown hair back and fixing the pink flower in her hair. “Stay behind me, inside the cape.” He stood, as she did as she was told, and a darker look overtook his eyes. Trying to kill children was completely unforgivable. 

Alfred hadn’t had much time to shield himself, and blood slipped down his cheek, which was really annoying. He wiped it away, darting forward as the three bombers prepared to launch off the other bombs. He plunged his sword toward one of their legs, as it sliced through, causing the man to stiffen. But rather than a scream of pain, he turned to dust before his eyes. Alfred lept back with widening eyes, trying to process it. NPC raiders? That hadn’t ever happened before. What was going on? At least he didn’t have to have reservations about killing them. 

Arthur’s eyes caught sight of a trajectory flying at him just in time for him to shoot it back with his hand, but not before another had flown past him before he could react. He again grabbed onto Lin Yi, cradling her to his chest, just as it went off, sending both of them flying forward and tumbling toward Alfred and Kiku from the force of it.

Alfred took the moment of blindness to launch himself at the NPCs, sacrificing the pain of the metal shards flying into his skin to slice through one of the attackers. Apparently Kiku had done the same, as he attacked with just as much fever. The bomber deflected the katana enough to hit the Japanese man back. He refused to give up ground, gaining just enough time to again whip his thin sword through the air toward his enemy, though the bomber was not about to let himself be caught. He gripped the blade in his hands, explosions against the ground from his feet sending him darting back in the air away from the group. The last living NPC’s voice was heard as he cackled in a range that made their blood turn to ice. Computer run characters were very clear in their cookie-cutter words and phrases, and that laughing had definitely belonged to a human. But they were unable to fight it as it slowly faded into thin air as each could only stare. The van disappeared with him, and then they were alone. 

Arthur picked himself up painfully, having luckily taken the brunt of the damage to avoid Lin Yi from being hurt. His eyes traced over her, glad there were no new scrapes or bruises, before he let her go. She toddled toward Kiku, reaching out and silently grabbing his damaged hands, and both turned their attention to the newcomers. 

“Thank you.” Kiku said in a soft voice that gave him a rather formal demeanor, and instantly made Alfred feel like everything he said was much too loud. He bowed his head, to which Alfred simply put away his sword. 

“Seriously, it’s no problem! I’m glad we were here to help.” Alfred looked down at the frightened girl, offering her his own large hand to her with a proud grin on his lips. “And you’re obviously super brave.” 

Lin Yi looked down with pink cheeks, and Alfred questioned whether she’d accept the handshake or not. But, eventually she did, though it was quick and she was obviously rather embarrassed. 

Alfred finally stood properly, paying attention to the Brit who stood at his side. He had had to suffer through it, but he could tell Arthur was in pain after the day of getting thrown around so often. He reached out to Arthur, offering his shoulder. “C’mon, let me help you walk at least. Your ankle looks like shit.”

Arthur threw an annoyed look back, shaking his head. “I’m fine. I can stand.” 

Of course that wasn’t going to work. Alfred pulled him in close, forcibly settling Arthur’s arm around his neck as he supported his waist, trying to take as much pressure off his ankle as possible. 

“So, what happened?” Alfred finally asked Kiku with a bemused expression. His fingers pulled up his player menu, finding their horse recallers to summon both of them back to them. “Did they just attack?” 

“We were taking a shortcut to Yedap. We have had no attacks recently. I thought we would be fine.” Kiku said humbly, a dissatisfied grimace monopolizing his face. He looked down at the young girl who simply stared back, squeezing his hand. “I did not think we would be attacked. I am glad you two heard.” 

“Yeah, yeah, no problem!” Alfred smiled, though he was growing increasingly curious as to why the two had taken that path anyways. “Where are you guys headed?” 

“Th-the dark map.” Kiku murmured, surprised Alfred was taking an interest. He glanced at Arthur whose head perked up at the mention. “We are going to find family that went there. We have to buy our port tickets in Yedap. We have heard stories of the Black Mage in Crewan. We wanted to wait it out.” 

It truly wasn’t uncommon to hear fake accounts of mages that claimed to be the all powerful, since no one actually knew the identity of him. It was sure to pass over soon enough, but most people did tend to avoid the areas despite that. Everyone knew the stories of the mass murderer. Why risk it on silly pride?

 

“We can’t let you go alone. Not with such a risk about, or the other NPCs attacking.” Arthur’s words took Alfred by complete surprise. Arthur was definitely never the type to want to join up with anyone, and the fact he was offering now was odder than he could really express. But the Brit seemed determined to at least accompany them. “At least join us to Yedap, since we’re all heading the same way.” 

Kiku seemed to ponder this for a while, though it filled Alfred with his typical indescribable glee when he did nod, which was truly the beginning of a beautiful new friendship. 

[Kiku Honda has joined Alfred Jones’s party.] 

[Your party has reached Party Level 5.]

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alfred was definitely much less excited than he should have been to find out the levels of the two that had just joined in with their party. 

It wasn’t necessarily that he was jealous like Arthur continuously tried to imply each time Alfred would pull a bitter expression over being compared, and he was quite proud of his own level! He had just enjoyed being the second highest in their group only to one of five of the most famous people in FCL- Elizaveta, Sadiq, Heracles, The mysterious black mage, and the first best player in the game- however, Kiku had completely shattered that when he joined with his level 145, which greatly overshadowed Alfred’s 125 and was between him and Elizaveta’s 193. Then Lin Yi resided toward the bottom with her 18. But, still, Alfred was in the top 20% ish. That wasn’t that bad! 

Still, Arthur managed to tease him about it each time it happened to meander into their conversation. Which was quite often. 

Alfred stared up at the tall buildings of Yedap casting an odd shadow over the dusty streets, and was instantly reminded of why he preferred not to come here often. While it wasn’t the worst area of Trudus to be in, it did remind him the most of the Egyptian themed Disney settings. A large, lavish castle stood at the capital’s center, though the rest of the town was surrounded in player markets and areas for the poor to live in. Despite Elizaveta’s offers to give homes to those who couldn’t make money in the game, many chose to live in these slums anyways, mostly due to crimes they had committed in the game previously or debts to guilds they couldn't yet repay. Still, it was painful that, even in a virtual reality, people couldn't escape homelessness. And it wasn't as if they couldn't feel the effects of the temperatures. 

Dust billowed around them on this particularly dry day as they walked, all keeping hoods drawn up and over their heads. The more homely they looked, the less likely they were to honestly be attacked, though there was also the fear of the bomber hiding out here from the other day. They couldn't afford to fight a dangerous NPC in the middle of so many people, especially when each carried quite a bit of loot. 

The week of fighting had been intense, yet they had gained quite a bit of exp from it, Alfred, Kiku, Arthur, and Lin Yi had all levelled, and Alfred had gained a new set of rare armor that would be useful in the Dark Map. Lin Yi had accustomed herself to a dagger, and Kiku had learned a simply enhancement spell to power his katana. On top of all of it, they'd found quite a few of the uncommon drops that Trudus had to offer, and were definitely rather excited to sell them off. 

"Alright, it's just past this corner." Arthur's slender finger directed their way to one of the more expensive indoor shops, which stood out horribly in the tan and gold area surrounding it, with bright pink walls and white curtains hanging from the roof. Alfred really couldn't imagine what kind of owner must have resided there, and he could only picture a cute young girl owning it, which seemed completely dangerous living here. Hell, he wouldn't want to stay here very long, either. 

"I will warn you," Arthur spoke in a quieter tone the closer they approached, slowing his pace in a way only Alfred really noticed. Almost nervously. What was he so scared for? "The owner can be quite... overwhelming." Alfred really couldn't picture anyone running the flamboyant shop to be anything other but. Still, his hesitance to go in put Alfred immediately on edge, as his fingers slipped around the hilt of his sword. "We'll trade in, then leave as fast as possible." 

The door opening to the shop revealed the scent of sweet flowers and desserts wafting out in a sudden wave, and Alfred immediately fell in love, despite his warnings, he plowed in, his stomach growling intensely. They'd been living off of low level food that stored easily, while this smell could only belong to a high level cook. He really didn't care how much it costed. He wanted whatever it was. 

"Dude, this smells AMAZING." Alfred enthused as his eyes darted between the displayed pastries on the walls, elegant dishes sitting on gorgeous china on the metallic counter in the middle of the shop. Fancy, high end decorations adorned the walls, and candles burned all around, which really wasn't needed due to the aroma of the room. But it was still gorgeous and bright. 

"Ohoho, I'm glad you enjoy." Alfred looked up to find a man slightly shorter than him leaning against the cash register, a cunning look on his face, as if he automatically knew all who entered would praise his cooking. His blonde hair was tucked to the side in a ponytail, facial hair dotting his jawline in a casual way that didn't give off a messy appearance, but it did add the handsomeness of his face. He didn't fit in the game at all, much like his store. He was dressed in the same clothes you would find in everyday life- slacks and a button up shirt - and seemed like he'd been dipped in lotion since the moment he arrived. Really, it was like he'd woken up, though his armor clacking on his body told him otherwise. "Feel free to look, just don't touch~" His words danced off his tongue magically, drawing Alfred in. 

Something about this man did set him on edge, despite his almost fairy-like appearance. The look on his face and his body language just spelled annoying manipulator, which a hero like Alfred certainly did not have time for. Or it was possibly because of the already irritated Arthur growling behind him at every word the blonde said. 

"Francis, he's underage." Arthur snorted as he pushed past Alfred, standing in front of him almost defensively with his arms crossed. Alfred wasn't about to correct him in saying he was actually 19, which he was sure Arthur knew. Still, he was shocked to find the sly look on Francis's face seeming to change to one of pure delight at seeing the Brt. "And we're simply here to sell our wares." 

"Mon chou! I'm quite glad to see you here! How have you been? Oh, Arthur, have you been in fights recently? You haven't gotten hurt, no?" Francis wasted no time in forcibly drawing the Brit into his arms, which seemed rather commonplace for Arthur by then. He slipped his arms around his shoulders, the action somehow annoying Alfred, though he didn't say anything, simply choosing to opt out by coughing awkwardly and departing to look around at what Francis had for display.

Arthur was having none of the affection, as he pulled out of his arms and held out his bag of miniaturized items, stuffing it in front of Francis's nose. "We're just here to trade in, blimey. We're waiting to meet someone, so this has to be a quick transaction." 

"Oui, oui, I can do that for you." Francis took the pouch, turning to drop it into a box as it flashed and replaced the items with coins and dollars. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay? I would very much like to meet your friends." 

"That's Kiku, and Lin Yi," Arthur said bluntly, motioning to them as he introduced each one. " I'm sure you can tell which name goes to who respectively. And the big one is Alfred." 

"H-Hey, that's not the only way to introduce me!" Alfred argued back, though he wasn't sure what else to really expect from Arthur. "What about the hero? Party leader? Trustworthy merc? Your savior? Your idol? Your--" 

"We really must be heading out, however. We told Elizaveta we would meet her in the square. She can't be out very long. You know the crowds she brings." Arthur deposited the coins into his bag, hoisting it back into his inventory and putting away his player menu. "Thank you for the trading. It was alright to see you." 

"I suppose that's all I can ask of you to say." Francis heaved a disappointed sigh, but found it in his heart to perk up enough to give his farewells. "As long as you're here, come in for everything, mon chou. I am always willing to help~ Au revoir!" 

Clearing out of the shop, Alfred immediately felt the need to voice his concerns. "He seemed kinda shady. How do you trust him."

"He's simply an idiot," Arthur explained, as if it was truly the most obvious thing in the word, with a shrug of his shoulders. "He has proven himself multiple times. I just don't pride myself in being his friends." 

"Ah, Arthur!" The group turned around as Francis practically lept from his front stoop, trying rather hard to get their attention. He obviously hadn't given up on wooing them yet. "There is a festival downtown! It is lovely if you would come back tonight!" 

"There is no way in hell." Arthur sniffed back. "We have business to attend to." 

"If you do, your meal is free. On the house. I'll have a booth, and you all can eat to your heart's content. I'll bring potions. Arthur, S'il te plait. I haven't seen you in so long." A pleading look that could hardly be denied was placed over his face, though that wasn't entirely the deciding factor. The fact all their stomach's seemed to growl simultaneously as the mention of food, including the young girl's really had its impact on his decision. 

"We might as well, Arthur. Elizaveta will not be here by tomorrow." Kiku spoke under his breath, softly.Really, he was mostly wanting to give his sister fun time after the hard travelling. 

"I suppose we might, then..." Arthur finally said, refusing to acknowledge Francis's happy expression at his confirmation. "I might be busy." 

Francis nodded happily, waving at the four as he ducked back into his shop. "I hope to see you tonight, mon chou!" 

Arthur groaned, placing the pads of his fingers against his forehead in annoyance. Really, it was his worry for the other's stopping him from saying no, but, then again, a festival really couldn't be all bad, could it? 

Looking up at Alfred, who immediately started to bubble over like a kettle left on the stove too long with excitement, his words spouting out with anticipation for all the fun things they would get to do tonight, Arthur didn't quite regret it. 

There was the chance they deserved a happy night after so long, and who was Arthur to really deny it? 

And with Alfred’s pure ecstaticness at the idea, he couldn’t help a smile come to his own lips. A night together couldn’t be that terrible.


	4. Reassurance

It had been truly quite a long time since Arthur had partaken in festivities simply for entertainment, rather than survival, and he felt more lost now gawking in the middle of the games and food than he had when he’d first come into this world. 

It was common, in real life, to do things for fun, right? Movies, fairs, roller coasters, going out to eat…! Those were all normal things. Yet, after dedicating almost all of his time to constantly focusing on doing things for a specific purpose- leveling, fighting, eating just to stay alive, working to heal and develop his magic- it felt like an ancient idea to be having fun. And Arthur could say he was rather terrible at it. 

Alfred was really the light of the situation. Without him, Arthur would have simply wandered up to Francis’s booth for the entire night listening to him drone on and on about his accomplishments and the benefits of being married in game, until he passed out from booze. However, the American was having none of that. He constantly dragged Arthur from game to game, booth to booth, sampling food and trying their hand at cards and gambling. Alfred was convinced he was just on a winning streak, but Arthur didn’t have to heart to tell him he’d given him a buffing spelling to raise his luck. Might as well boost his confidence in whatever way he could. 

Kiku and Lin Yi were off playing with fish or swimming, or something of the sort. Either way, they had disappeared, leaving Arthur and Alfred to wander alone. Arthur’s fingers had begun to cramp up an hour ago from Alfred forcibly taking his hand and pulling him to each game. He walked idly behind him, his feet scuttling to keep up with Alfred’s longer legs and big strides, as they came to the strength test Alfred had been prepping himself to play all night. 

“I’m gonna win you something big.” Alfred promised as he took his steps up to the game. A heavy weight hung on the other side, as the American stared it down like it was prey. His fingers closed threateningly around the giant hammer he was supposed to use to win, which he propped on his shoulder with a cruel grin. “You just wait.” 

Arthur was actually rather excited to see how far Alfred could move the pulley, considering he hadn’t really witnessed his raw strength over just demonstrations of skill before. He stood back with his arms crossed, an expectant look on his face. “Make me proud.” He teased, really actually hoping Alfred would manage to destroy it. 

Alfred braced himself, before the hammer swung down with all the strength he had toward the platform. The metal rung against one another, and immediately all eyes turned to look at the weight to see if it would shoot to the top. 

The bag bounced barely off the ground, before settling back down onto it with a disappointing plop. 

Alright, Arthur wasn’t going to let that be the end of it. 

Alfred slowly looked at Arthur, a sheepish, embarrassed look dominating his face. “Ah..sorry,” He said as he scratched behind his ear humbly, trying to pass off his failure. “I really wanted to get you something.” 

“Alfred, just bloody try again,” Arthur sniffed, pointing his finger stubbornly at the test. “You’ll get it this time.” 

“What? That was the best I could do.” Alfred muttered, looking back at it in defeat. “I’m not gonna get it.” 

“Just do it.” 

Alfred looked at Arthur with confused eyebrows turning in, but he also wasn’t about to question it. With a nonchalant shrug, he faced back toward the game, holding the hammer once again above his head, rolling his neck as he prepared to put all of his strength into it. 

A soft, white glow spread over the ground, invisible to all those standing around them but Arthur. He watched as Alfred’s strength instantly doubled as his spell blanketed him. It was horribly wrong to cheat. He never would have if he was still on Earth. But this was a different case. It wasn’t that he was trying to gain anything out of it, truly. He just didn’t want to have to bear witness to Alfred’s crying all night. 

Alfred swung the hammer back down, though the results were much different. The weight went flying in the air to the top of the track, banging against the victory bell before it tumbled back to Earth. And the expression on Alfred’s face just then assured Arthur his efforts were well worth it, as the American laughed in pure delight. 

And that was how Arthur ended up with a homely looking teddy bear that had obviously seen better days, walking side-by-side with Alfred toward Francis’s booth. “You know, he looks like he’s been trampled.” Arthur said as he displayed the bear before both of them, holding it up in the light for both to see. One button eye was hanging loosely by a thread, and there were dirt stains within its fur. “Still, he has an unexpected charm, doesn’t he?” 

“What, it’s a he now?” Alfred snorted, bumping shoulders with the Brit, as he was knocked slightly off his path. “Why can’t it be a she? Equality, man.” 

“I suppose she could have been a roughhouser as a child.” Arthur looked back up at Alfred, cradling the bear to his chest delicately, like she was alive after all. Then again, who said she wasn’t? She could have easily been unable to move, yet a consciousness existed all the same. “She’ll make a fine lady or a noble one day, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Dude, she needs a name.” Alfred stroked his chin as if the process was one of great intellect, eyes tilting to the sky. A thousand options flooded through his mind. “Dianne? Mei? Gerty?” 

“You’re quite horrible at this, I won’t lie.” Arthur drew her into sight again, his fingers tucking under her arms to support her. Her brown fur was slightly matted, but overall, she would be easy to fix up. Still, the Brit would always live in shock that Alfred had picked the lowest level bear as a prize over the armor or potions hanging at the highest level. But he supposed his own childish instincts took over. “I won’t let you disgrace our child with a name like Gerty. Alfred, you’ll ruin her!” 

Alfred pulled a dramatically offended expression, his feet scuffling as he rounded around to halt Arthur in his spot. He reached out, gripping onto Arthur’s hand with a determined expression on his face that truly made Arthur’s heart pick up nervously. “I’m not the father, am I, Arthur? I always knew she never had my eyes.” One hand released Arthur’s to clutch his chest, groaning in pain. His voice was much more theatrical than normal, which managed to thoroughly amuse Arthur in a way that made him feel quite dorky doing so. “I don’t care. I’ll adopt her and raise her like she’s my own. I won’t leave you alone.” 

“Oh, come now,” Arthur withdrew from his hold, walking past Alfred feet ahead. He stopped, staring at the sky with a grave look. Alfred weakly turned his head, his eyes watching him as he stood with the wind blowing through his cloak and hair. “Alfred, This family will never work. I can’t let her take after your unmannered western ways. I can’t allow her to grow up a football player! She must read Shakespeare, do musical theatre. She’ll like the Beatles, not Lady Gaga.” 

“Okay, now you’re just bullying me.” Alfred rolled his eyes, but appeared at Arthur’s side so they could continue walking seconds later. “Gaga is the queen. You don’t mess with our Momma Monster.” 

“Oh, Mon chou!” Arthur could feel dread already within him just hearing those words, as he forced a half-assed smile on his face to greet the overly zealous Frenchman as the two approached. “I’ve already set out a meal for you! Fit for a king.” 

“That’s great; I’m starving.” 

Alfred and Arthur felt their hearts instantly stop in an odd fear as the person they hadn’t even noticed approaching suddenly spoke. Both turned, coming face to face with Elizaveta who smiled back. She was obviously rather pleased with herself, which only managed to piss off Arthur. He waved a hand to allow her to take the seat at the booth, standing to the side with his arms folded. “You arrived early.” He muttered, picking up one of the biscuits set out and taking small bites to satisfy himself for the time being. “And who’s this?” 

“My knight. Gilbert.”

The white haired man in question flashed a smile that matched Elizaveta’s loud cockiness, which immediately gave Arthur and Alfred the feeling of irritation right off the bat. He didn’t appear to be anything special, which offered quite a bit of confusion as to why he had been chosen to accompany Elizaveta on the journey. He was barely Alfred’s height, yet his confident stance made him appear larger than he was. Rather than extending a hand, he offered a nod, which really let off the impression he thought he was much higher than the two standing before him. “Hey! Guess you’re blessed with getting me in your party!” He boomed in a crackly voice that really did not fit the air. “I’m a level 182 here to save your asses.” 

Arthur’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, as he simply turned to walk, dragging Alfred after him by the collar. “I am not dealing with that tonight.” He said sharply, as Gilbert was left dumbstruck. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Arthur, if you’re tired, you should sleep.” 

Alfred had been watching the Brit’s head drooping for over half an hour, as he was obviously struggling to stay awake. On days when he had to do quite a bit of healing, he always needed extra time to recover. And after the day they’d had, he had used a lot of magic. It was a wonder he could even keep his head up. 

Arthur stubbornly muttered a no, the back of his hand rubbing at his ear resembling the actions of a child. It almost made Alfred want to giggle, but he was at least somewhat sensitive to Arthur’s feelings. Still, he was going to end up passing out in an uncomfortable position, then blame Alfred later for letting him fall asleep in such a way, and Alfred didn’t want to take that kind of heat. 

Arthur was obviously unprepared for Alfred’s hand to slowly slip around his shoulder when he jolted and his eyes reopened, though his exhaustion allowed Alfred to force him to lay down, placing the Brit’s head in Alfred’s lap. 

“A-Ah, Alfred, I can sit up fine on my own.” Arthur grimaced as he rolled his head around to look up at him through a yawn. “There’s no need to treat me like a child.” 

“You act like one, Arthur, be real.” Alfred snorted, holding onto Arthur’s shoulder to keep him from getting back up. “Just get comfortable. We have nowhere else to go.” 

The lights strung overhead gave the otherwise run down area a rather elegant feeling. The stars that were much too bright to be real flickered brightly overhead even with the dim lighting, and music played softly all around. It was rather nice to see so many people coming together in the otherwise competitive and hostile world, putting aside their backgrounds and differences to partake in fun games, dance, eat, and really enjoy a night together, which was a huge rarity. 

Alfred was quite surprised to find Arthur snoring lightly within another couple of minutes, though he was completely fine with it. Lin Yi, Kiku, Elizaveta, and Gilbert all sat a few yards away at Francis’s booth, laughing together and talking of adventures and their home lives. 

Really, it was quite peaceful. 

Alfred slowly leaned down and kissed Arthur’s forehead beneath his soft, messy hair, running a thumb over the area as he drew back. “I hope we can stay like this forever.” He murmured, smiling gently. “Even if we never get out of the game, as long as I have you by my side, we’ll be okay. I’ll watch over you, and you keep me from getting killed, yeah? We’ll become the most powerful someday Artie. We’ll pass the top guilds. We’ll beat the Black Mage. We’ll stop all the problems for people. I miss my family, but... “ He breathed softly, sitting back against the bench, a smile taking over his lips. “I think we can be family enough for one another.” 

[Gilbert Beilschmidt has joined Alfred Jones’s party.] 

[Your party has reached Party Level 6.]  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Arthur? Arthur!” 

The man in question’s eyes snapped open immediately, finding himself in an area he wasn’t quite expecting. His breath felt like it had caught fire, spreading throughout his entire body. He was sweating and panting, and his chest hurt, which indicated he was likely choking in his sleep. His hands gripped tightly onto Alfred’s arms, though as soon as he realized he had been grabbing onto him, he slowly released him. He was fading back into consciousness, but he still couldn’t quite tell what had been reality and what was fantasy. His nightmare he’d apparently woken Alfred up with still played fresh in his mind, like a horrible memory. 

“Arthur, are you okay?” Alfred’s hand dragged the blanket to his forehead to dab away the moisture, trying to keep his voice soft and movements slow to keep Arthur from panicking at all. Arthur opened his lips to speak, but nothing came out but a hoarse sound. Alfred slowly brushed his hand down his cheek, silencing him effectively. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk.”

They laid there a while longer together, Arthur curled up on his side breathing thickly to try to keep his heart from racing. Alfred rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, though he wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t really good at this sort of thing. “What were you dreaming about? It had to be pretty bad.” 

Arthur slowly rolled onto his back, blinking up at Alfred as he came into view again in the dark. He looked almost ashamed, and Alfred knew it was for waking him up, though it didn’t bother him at all. He simply wanted Arthur to be alright. “Ah, the...it was dumb. Nothing to be horribly terrified over.” He said with a glance to the side, biting his lip. “It was a child’s dream really. You’ll think I’m silly.” 

Alfred snorted, sitting back as he stretched out his legs and supported himself with his hands on the ground of the tent. After their night at the fair, the entire group agreed they’d fight together within the Fields of Isalei to assure they all knew each other’s skills and strengths. It was better to figure out a formation while fighting low level monsters rather than risking it on monsters higher than any of them. “Arthur, I couldn’t think it was dumb. You can’t help your dreams, anyways.” 

Arthur shut his eyes, the heels of his hands digging into his forehead and trying to massage away the memories. It had felt too real, almost like a prediction of the future, and that was the part that freaked Arthur out the most. He could still feel the pain. “We were attacked. All of us.” He murmured, trying to keep his voice from wavering. “I could only stand by and watch you die. I couldn’t save anyone.”

“Attacked? By who? C’mon, no one could get the better of us.” 

Arthur’s expression was filled with defeat as he spoke, his arms folding self consciously across his chest. “The Black Mage.” He finally said as he looked away. 

Alfred grimaced, though they both let quietness fill the spaces between them. He slipped down so he laid on his back on the sleeping bag next to the Brit, placing his hands under his head as he stared up at the tent ceiling. “Yo, you really fear that guy, don’t you? I don’t blame you. If I met the number one player of the game- he’s a swordsman, right?- knowing I couldn’t defeat him, I’d be afraid, too. But, Arthur, you’re pretty strong yourself! Like, the most incredible mage I’ve seen!”

He could see Arthur look at him out of the corners of his eyes, so he met his gaze, gazing at the way that, even in the dark, the shocked Brit’s face had begun to turn bright red. He was so easy to flatter. He flashed him his own silly, toothy grin, just wanting to reassure him and not leave him doubting himself the way he always did. “We’ll always protect each other, yeah? That’s what we promised. So go to sleep, and dream of our adventures. Don’t let yourself focus on the bad. I won’t die on you, so you can’t die on me either.” 

Alfred fell asleep a while later, once he was sure Arthur had, snoring loudly once more in a way that made the rest of them think he’d choke on his own sounds. Though, Arthur never did get back to slumber, only pretending for Alfred’s sake. He stared at the walls of the tent, listening to the night sounds of their group shifting and dreaming, the memories of fire scorching his mind. He could only pray what Alfred said was true, and they’d beat the game without having to lose anyone.


End file.
